Pardon Our Mess: Former Augusta-Richmond County Library

Overgrown bushes and weeds and litter can be seen outside the old library in downtown Augusta.

WHERE: Outside the former Augusta-Richmond County Public Library main branch on the corner of Greene and Ninth streets.

WHAT: Plastic cups and bottles, a wood board, empty cigarette cartons and other debris litter the overgrown bushes outside the former library. Weeds on the sidewalk grew several feet high before they were recently cut down. Vagrants frequently squat outside the building’s main entrance portico.

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE: The building, vacant since the new library opened across the street in June 2010, is owned by the city. Administrator Fred Russell said maintenance of the building’s exterior was not assigned to a city work crew.

ACTION PROMISED: “I will take a look at it and we will correct the problem,” Russell said. “We should be maintaining it. The neighborhood needs to be maintained and we haven’t done a very good job of that.”